Lexi spent the rest of the day at Mindy's apartment, discussing plans for how they would get the evidence that Tom was the hacker. At first, they started with an elaborate scheme that involved fireworks. But when they both realized they didn't know how to set off fireworks or even where to buy them, they decided to just stick with a simple breaking and entering.

An agenda item on the Break Into Tom's Home Plan was retrieving Lexi's cell. She texted her parents from Mindy's phone letting them know she was going to spend the day with Mindy and would connect with them later that night, hoping that would stave them off for just a little longer. It seemed to work based on Scarlett's long, loving response coupled with about a thousand heart emojis.

As the sun set, Lexi's jitters gained momentum, being fed by thoughts of nearing Tom again. Given everything that happened yesterday, there was a very real possibility that he would be home. Yet, with their plan in place, Lexi would have just enough time to grab her phone, Tom's laptop, and anything else she could find while he was led to their distraction.

With a ladder shoved in between their seats, Mindy parked about a block away from his house. "Are you ready to party?"

Lexi had thought she would be okay, but she was trying hard not to start hyperventilating. Being back in Tom's neighborhood did bring back everything she had felt yesterday to the forefront.

"Girl, we don't have to do this if you're not ready. We can loop in your family to help," Mindy said with concern etched across her features.

Lexi shook her head and took in a deep breath. "No. We're here. Let's just get it over with." She squeezed her eyes tight for a moment before twisting in her seat to face Mindy. "Okay, let's go over the plan again. First, I'll sneak around to the side window. It wasn't locked yesterday when I opened it, so I doubt it'll be locked again. But if it is, we'll have to move to plan B."

Mindy nodded. "Okay, then I'll wait for your signal on the walkie-talkie." She held up the device before continuing. "Once I get the all clear, I'll start toilet papering his front lawn." Mindy grabbed the pack of toilet paper that was behind the driver's seat. "Once I'm done with that, I'll ring the doorbell and go hide in the bushes. And then when I see Tommy Boy come outside, I'll signal to you that it's okay to go inside."

"And then I'll have about five minutes as he cleans up the lawn to open the window, grab the things, and then get out of there."

"We got this!" Mindy said excitedly.

"We got this," Lexi repeated, trying to manifest their success. Mindy was moving to open her door, and Lexi's heart rate spiked. "Wait, but want to say a quick prayer first?"

Mindy nodded and the girls clasped hands over the ladder that was resting on the center console. "God, we pray that you be with us tonight, keep us safe, and help us steal the right things." The girls busted out laughing at the last line. "Okay, actually sorry that we're going to steal. Please forgive us, but also please help us. We love you. Amen."

"Amen!" Lexi said and the weight that was crushing down on her seemed to lift slightly. She was grateful that Mindy was doing this with her. And was even more thankful that they were able to talk everything through earlier that day.

"Alright! Let's do this thing!" Mindy hopped out of the car and Lexi followed. She grabbed the ladder that extended to seven feet. The girls had oiled it up earlier so that when it came time to use it, Lexi could be as quiet as possible. They walked slowly through the neighborhood in their all-black attire, careful not to draw too much attention from the few people that were out walking their dogs. Street lamps and house lights illuminated their surroundings and with each step they took toward Tom's house, Lexi's pulse increased its speed.

As soon as they got to the intersection before Tom's place, the girls split off - Lexi going to the side and Mindy making her way to the front. The bushes that Lexi had fallen into the day before dipped at the spot underneath the window and the sight alone brought back the light ache in Lexi's wrist.

The lights seemed out, and Lexi wondered if Tom was home. She quickly extended the ladder and slowly set it against the wall, waiting for Mindy's signal.

"I don't think he's home! Was his car parked out front when you were here yesterday?" Mindy asked through the walkie-talkie in Lexi's hand.

Lexi held down the button to respond. "Yeah, it was. And I think you're right, I don't see his lights on."

"Should I still toilet paper the lawn?"

"Yeah, but be quick! Just in case he comes back. I'll head in now."

"Okay, sounds good! I'll hide in the bushes when I finish and keep a lookout."

Lexi clipped the walkie-talkie to her pants and carefully made her way up the ladder. When she reached the top, she peered over the windowsill. No lights were visible in the bathroom or in the room that extended beyond it. With a deep breath in, Lexi used her full force to open the window. Thankfully, Tom hadn't locked it and she was able to hoist herself up and crawl in just fine. Lexi's lips parted as her eyes adjusted to her surroundings.

She grabbed the flashlight that she had tucked into her back pocket and tiptoed through the darkness and into Tom's bedroom. When it was clear he indeed wasn't home, she pulled the string of his bedside lamp to cast a yellow, dim glow over the space. Her brows furrowed when her gaze landed on his bed. He had been the first person to touch her and she trembled at the memory of his lips on her and his fingers against her.

A part of her still couldn't believe that the man she loved was capable of something like ransomware. But another part of her told her how naive she was. A lump formed in her throat and she took a deep breath to try to hold the waterworks in for as long as possible. Stick to the plan. Find your phone, get his stuff, and get out! You'll find out the truth soon enough.

Urgency should have been on Lexi's mind, but something about being back in his room made her want to take her time. Mindy hadn't sent a signal anyway, so Lexi figured she might as well get to know Tom. The real Tom. She opened his bedside table drawer and saw some books on hacking techniques. That's not surprising. Lexi took note of the books' names since she was somewhat curious to read them.

She moved on to his desk and found some university papers and pamphlets in one of the drawers. Another drawer was locked and she kicked it. Ugh, if only I knew how to pick a lock. Lexi wished she could just pull out a hairpin from her bun and magically release it, but this wasn't one of those spy movies.

Tom's laptop was resting on his desk and she grabbed it and tucked it under her arm. She was about to turn when a small black card with white lettering caught her attention. She picked it up to get a closer look. 'Black Sphere' was all that was written on it. Nothing on the back, just those two words on the front. Black Sphere? What is that? Lexi tucked the card into her front pocket and continued to look for her phone.

A sound from the walkie-talkie alerted her to an incoming message from Mindy, "Okay, I'm done. Tom hasn't shown up yet, so I'll just be on lookout duty until you're ready."

"Sounds good. I can't find my phone, but I'll keep looking."

Lexi spent the next thirty minutes searching every nook and cranny of Tom's apartment. She tried putting things back to where they were at first, but then figured Tom would know she was there from his missing laptop, so what was the point?

Most of the searching was spent looking for her phone, but Lexi couldn't help searching through random things like his kitchen cupboard. When she opened his freezer, her eyes grew wide at the tub of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate ice cream. She knew he hated chocolate and that he wasn't much of an ice cream person, so she wondered why he owned it. She furrowed her brows and slammed the freezer door shut. I need to get out of here.

There wasn't much around his apartment that she could rifle through and she'd already spent time looking through everything she could. She had tried to avoid looking at the photos of Tom and his friends around the house, but her eyes moved on their own accord. She stared at one of his photos and her heart seemed to break all over again. He was smiling in his swim trunks with his brother Greg at what looked like some tropical paradise. His muscles were on full display and Lexi quickly turned her face so as not to fall for the unintentional thirst trap.

"Okay, Mindy. I have his computer and a couple of hard drives I found. I couldn't find anything else so I'm heading down."

"Yay! Good job! Mission accomplished!"

Lexi quickly made her way back out of the window. After closing it up, she carefully made her way down the steps but froze when she heard the sounds of someone coming toward her.

Slowly turning her head, and bracing herself for the worst, Lexi found Mindy beaming up at her.  "Oh my God, Mindy, you scared me. I thought you were Tom for a second."

"Oh, oops! Sorry, I should've signaled I was coming. Before we leave, come see my handiwork." Mindy grabbed the ladder from Lexi and led her to the front of the house.

Lexi burst out laughing seeing what Mindy had created. 'You Suck Bal' was spelled out in all capital letters across his lawn with toilet paper. Mindy had even arranged some of the flowers to decorate the lettering giving it an artistic touch.

"Mindy! What is Bal?"

"I ran out of toilet paper. It's supposed to say, 'Balls', but I think he'll get the idea."

Lexi laughed and shook her head. "Girl, who knew you had it in you."

"I know right? I feel so alive right now!"

"Okay, quick, let's go! He may be home any minute!" The girls quickly made their way back to the car and shoved everything they had into it.

"Where to? My place or your parent's house?" Mindy asked as she started the ignition.

"Let's go to my parent's place. I think it's time I tell them everything that happened and show them what we got. I may need their help after all, sifting through all of his files."

"Sounds good! I can't believe we managed to pull this off! It feels almost too easy!" Mindy said excitedly as they began their drive to Scarlett and Jason.

"I know, same! This was way easier than I thought it would be! I can't believe he didn't lock his window again."

"Seriously!"

The rest of the drive went quickly and less than fifteen minutes later, they were pulling up to the house. "Whose car is that?" Mindy pointed toward a car parked right in front of the house.

As soon as Lexi's gaze landed on the car, her stomach dropped. She knew exactly who that car belonged to, and it wasn't Hagrid's.

***

Thanks for reading, voting, and commenting! Get ready for Tommy Boy's reappearance in the next chapter! 😇♥️